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Cu2+ Inhibits Photosystem II Activities but Enhances Photosystem I Quantum Yield of Microcystis aeruginosa

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Abstract

Responses of photosystem I and II activities of Microcystis aeruginosa to various concentrations of Cu2+ were simultaneously examined using a Dual-PAM-100 fluorometer. Cell growth and contents of chlorophyll a were significantly inhibited by Cu2+. Photosystem II activity [Y(II)] and electron transport [rETRmax(II)] were significantly altered by Cu2+. The quantum yield of photosystem II [Y(II)] decreased by 29 % at 100 μg L−1 Cu2+ compared to control. On the contrary, photosystem I was stable under Cu2+ stress and showed an obvious increase of quantum yield [Y(I)] and electron transport [rETRmax(I)] due to activation of cyclic electron flow (CEF). Yield of cyclic electron flow [Y(CEF)] was enhanced by 17 % at 100 μg L−1 Cu2+ compared to control. The contribution of linear electron flow to photosystem I [Y(II)/Y(I)] decreased with increasing Cu2+ concentration. Yield of cyclic electron flow [Y(CEF)] was negatively correlated with the maximal photosystem II photochemical efficiency (F v/F m). In summary, photosystem II was the major target sites of toxicity of Cu2+, while photosystem I activity was enhanced under Cu2+ stress.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the the National Natural Science Foundation of China (U1120302 and 21177127) and the Specialized Research Fund for the Doctoral Program of Higher Education (20125303120003).

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The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Lab of Plateau Lake Ecology and Global Change, College of Tourism and Geographic Science, Yunnan Normal University, Kunming, 650500, China

    Chunnuan Deng

  2. Laboratory of Environmental Pollution and Bioremediation, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi, 830011, China

    Chunnuan Deng, Xiangliang Pan & Shuzhi Wang

  3. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China

    Shuzhi Wang

  4. State Key Laboratory of Environmental Geochemistry, Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guiyang, 550002, China

    Daoyong Zhang

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  1. Chunnuan Deng
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Correspondence to Xiangliang Pan.

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Deng, C., Pan, X., Wang, S. et al. Cu2+ Inhibits Photosystem II Activities but Enhances Photosystem I Quantum Yield of Microcystis aeruginosa . Biol Trace Elem Res 160, 268–275 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-014-0039-z

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